Staring at her phone, Liana scrolls and swipes different apps to browse while she lays in bed.

She had hoped at this point she'd fallen to sleep from her sheer boredom. Even resorting to
counting Mareep like she used to do as a little kid, her swirling thoughts kept her up. Impatient
and frustrated, she huffs out a breath as she sits up. Looking around her dark room, she could
only make out the shadowy figures of her furniture. Liana looked out the window, the only visible
thing to her thanks to the moonlight of the night.

In combination with her excitement, nervousness and the events that happened during the
week, different topics of thought gnawed and bothered Liana from falling asleep. "I sure could
really use some of those sleeping powder pouches right now. But, that wouldn't be healthy. I
know" Liana mutters to herself as she laid back down, sinking her head back into her pillow.
Eventually the girl had dozed off late at night. Even her countless thoughts and worries had
grown tired and allowed some sleep to the spirited trainer.

Morning comes and Liana's phone buzzes with multiple notifications. Yawning and stretching
exhaustively, Liana lazily reaches for her phone to open up her messages. Her vision was
blurry, still groggy from her improper sleep. However, the name of Ivan caught her attention as
she focused more attentively to read the message. A long pause ensues after reading the
message and Liana couldn't help but yell out "What!?".

Throwing her bed sheets completely off her and the bed with her strength, Liana rushes to get
dressed in her usual sporty style and slips on her shoes. Quickly, she readies herself to go out
and jumps down the stairs, surprising her parents who were none the wiser of Liana's plans.
"Liana! Why the rush?" Her mom asked which Liana could only respond with "can't talk, gotta
run!"

Despite the rude and abrupt departure of Liana, the parents could only shrug and sigh out of
annoyance. Liana ran out to the dirt road, leading to the park as she hoped to make it before it's
too late. Her hair waved as the cool morning wind blew. The weather was forgiving for any
jogger running but Liana already felt the consequence of leaving without breakfast. Still, she
needed to push through the fatigue and her growling stomach's complaints as she wished to
make it to the park in time.

Distant sounds of pokemon had given Liana confidence that she wasn't too late. Apparently a
message had spread that experienced trainers were traveling and were open to battling local
trainers in towns. It turns out the town they were in had a few visiting this morning. But that
wasn't the only message that caught Liana's attention. Ivan had not only come to see but even
challenged them to a one on one.

Usually, Liana would be brimming with exuberance, excited to participate with her friend in
pokemon battles. But recent events like Ivan's loss to Shawn in front of everyone and his
struggles in training had only lowered Ivan's spirits. Protective and worried, Liana wanted to at
least be there for Ivan as she felt that his decision to battle without her was a reckless one.
"Bre-loom!" Liana heard a familiar cry which led her straight to a match Breloom was already in.
Astonished to see Breloom moving and fighting with such grace and Ivan so calm and focused,
Liana froze in place as she just watched without uttering another word.

Ivan was holding his drum under one arm and a single drumstick held in his other hand, swiftly
banging in sequence to communicate to his battling Breloom. It almost sounded like his own
personal morse code, only he and his pokemon can understand. The opposing trainer was a
little older than Ivan and tried his best to keep his cool. "Zangoose, quick attack!" The trainer
called out to his Zangoose, ordering it to keep up the assault. However, it seemed Ivan was very
quick to react as he banged on his drum in quick succession. Breloom responds with a mighty
block, following up with a mach punch attack.

The Zangoose launched backwards, landing and rolling flat on his back. The opposing trainer
begrudgingly considered stopping the match when he saw his damaged Zangoose try to get
back up. Breloom and Ivan stood their ground, ready to continue. Upon seeing the
determination of the two, the trainer concedes and holds up his hand, calling out "alright, match
is yours".

The trainer ran over to help Zangoose onto his feet while Ivan jogged over to give praising pats
to Breloom. "Loom, Bre-loom" Breloom joyfully received the pats, knowing this was Ivan saying
he did a great job in the match. Once they were done celebrating, Ivan and Breloom walked
over to the trainer, both with a friendly smile. "Heh, shame on me for underestimating a boy who
couldn't talk I suppose. I should've used a different pokemon. But still, you bested me fair and
square. That drum technique of yours was awesome" the trainer spoke appraisals, genuinely
fascinated with the unique approach to communication during battle.

Ivan could only smile and offer a handshake as to show his gratitude with the adept trainer's
feedback. Breloom too offered his good sportsmanship to Zangoose as he bashfully apologized
for the mighty punches "Bre- Bre-loom…". "Zan-goose" Zangoose smirked and lowered his
head, still wincing slightly from the super effective blows.

"I'd better take off and get him fixed up. I look forward to battling you again, uh…" the trainer
awkwardly paused as he wondered what the boy's name was. Ivan too shared in the awkward
circumstance as he quickly thought of a way to show his name. He brought out his bag which
had the name Ivan on it. "Ivan, awesome. Pleasure to meet ya Ivan, I'm Benjamin. Hope to see
you again in my travels" Benjamin waved goodbye as he recalled Zangoose back into his
pokeball and walked out of the park, going on his way to the pokemon center.

Liana was speechless and couldn't help but stare with a blank expression. Bewildered to see
the timid, quiet but kind friend act so confident and clever was a sight to behold. The boy then
turned towards Liana, snapping her out of her prolonged stare. Ivan made his way over to
Liana, signing to her with boisterous energy. He was clearly still stimulated after his victory over
the trainer he had fought.
Liana was amused but raised an eyebrow as she came up to him. "So, I guess that was your
first ever victory huh?" Liana asked as she crossed her arms. Ivan answered only with a quick
nod and grin, feeling proud of himself. However, Liana quickly brought her clenched fist and
hammered it softly on top of Ivan's head. Ivan flinched but didn't feel hurt while Liana followed
up with her next question "-and you didn't think to wait for me when you called me over to see
it?"

Ivan blushes with an apologetic smirk. His confused Breloom walked closer to his side only to
be assured by Ivan's pats. "You know me, I'd hate being left out of awesome moments like that"
Liana states as she puts her arm around the back of Ivan's head, squeezing him over to her
side fondly. Ivan could only try not to fall over as the sporty girl overpowered him quite easily.
Sniffing the slight odor from her underarm, Ivan couldn't help but sign out a little jab towards her
as he freed himself from the headlock. "Well, all the more reason to let me know beforehand so
I can at least get a morning shower" Liana gives a playful shove as she makes her excuse and
steps back in consideration.

"Alright then! While I'm here, I'm up for a battle" looking around, Liana searches for a trainer in
the park who looks open for a match. Eager to join the trainer revelry, Liana walks forth to a
group of trainers, chatting amongst themselves. Ivan followed close behind, admittedly
struggling to keep up with Liana as she power walked.

"Hey you!" Liana calls out and points to a boy who seemed to be free. The boy definitely looked
like a trainer with his pokeball belt showing and his attire appropriate for the outdoors. He was
chatting with other trainers who all seemed older than Liana. Despite the age difference, Liana
spoke out in confidence "I'm looking for someone to battle. Are you up for a match?"

"Hrm? Oh, sure. What pokemon are you using?" The boy asked in a casual tone. Liana was
quick to answer the trainer's question "nah, I'm not telling. I already know telling your opponent
what you're going to use just gives you a disadvantage". "Clever, alright then. I'm Oliver. Just a
one on one will do?" Oliver asks as he excuses himself from the other trainers. "Yeah, sure
thing. I'm Liana, and this is Ivan" answering with a more friendly tone, Liana turns and leads
Oliver to an open arena.

Ivan took note of how serious Liana was taking this challenge. It would seem that Liana was
really looking for a win of her own from these trainers. The trainers don't do this too often which
may explain why Liana didn't want to waste the opportunity. As Ivan pondered, he looked to his
side to see Breloom also curious to watch the battle.

Liana arrived at her spot and held her pokeball firmly in one hand. "Alright, let's get it on!" Liana
yelled as Oliver responded by throwing his pokeball out. Out of habit, Liana watched for her
opponent's pokemon to be released and formed onto the ground. This time however the
pokemon formed up above. "Go, Noctowl!" Oliver called out as his Noctowl appeared onto the
battlefield. The low hoot echoed from the Noctowl, majestically flapping and hovering over the
arena.
Liana too was ready and threw her pokeball out. With a pop, the pokeball opened with a snap
and released the capsulated red energy. As before, the red energy soon gave form to Liana's
pokemon. "Let's go, Granbull!" Liana calls in style as she poses and shows off to Ivan. Granbull
howls and stands on his hindlegs, eager for battle as he pants. Quick to open up on her first
move before Oliver could prepare, Liana hastily ordered her Granbull "Alright, play rough. Go!"

Granbull charges forward and leaps up to attack the flying Noctowl. However, Noctowl easily
avoids the Granbull as Oliver commands Noctowl "Noctowl, fly up high then use swift". Noctowl
flaps a gust of wind which blows down towards Granbull. From high up, Noctowl thrusts and
flaps forward a shower of sparkling yellow stars hurtling down towards Granbull. "Oh no…
Granbull, dodge!" Liana says in vain as the stars travel and collide right on Granbull with such
accuracy.

"Keep using swift, Noctowl" Oliver commands while Noctowl remains high up and continues to
fire down stars from his wings. Liana grimaces at the sight of Granbull fruitlessly trying to block
the attacks that always seem to hit Granbull no matter where he goes. Ivan anticipates Liana to
do something but she seems to have gone blank. She wasn't issuing orders of any kind, even
Oliver had noticed as he clearly had the advantage. He was perplexed with his opponent's lack
of communication. "Noctowl, stop attacking!" Oliver yells out his order to give Granbull a
reprieve. Suspicious, Oliver looks to Liana to ask "Hey Liana? Does your Granbull know any
ranged attacks?"

Liana blushed from her embarrassing realization. She didn't want to answer straight away but
seeing Oliver, Ivan and even the pokemon staring and waiting for an answer, she simply replied
"...No". "Ah! Then, you can't really beat my Noctowl then" Oliver states as he brings out his
pokeball to recall Noctowl from the sky. With that, the battle ended much sooner than expected
as Oliver walked over to inspect Granbull. He noticed a few scratch wounds caused by the swift
barrage. "Nothing serious there. Nothing a good potion can't handle" Oliver says while he sees
Liana approaching with her pokeball in hand.

"Granbull are pretty decent brawlers, but without a range option then they can't do much" now
that Liana was closer, Oliver spoke more calmly as he shared his critiques to Liana. Annoyed
with the outcome of not even being able to have her pokemon land a hit during battle, Liana
spoke out "well, if your pokemon didn't fly away then my Granbull could've beaten it". "Yea, if I
just had my pokemon sit there then you can beat them. But I didn't. No one in the league is
going to just let you win, so you need to be more prepared for the unexpected" Oliver sounded
more stern as he didn't appreciate Liana's attitude. Though understandable for a young trainer
to act this way during their first loss, mannerisms are important in any competition.

Liana was silent and exhaled out her frustration, admitting already that the older trainer was
right. "You're right… I'll look into teaching Granbull some new moves. Hey, thanks for tip" seeing
at the corner of her eye, Liana swallowed her pride and made a good example for Ivan who
walked over to her side. Initially, Ivan intended to calm Liana down. Her smile removed any
worry from the two trainers. "Next time, I'm going to win our next battle" Liana states with
confidence with a little less wrath in her voice. "Awesome, looking forward to it. See ya" Oliver
excuses himself from the two but not before spotting Liana's outstretched hand. He happily
shakes her hand and goes back to join the other trainers.

"Close match, huh?" Liana pulls a face as she was joking to Ivan who gave a cute smirk in
return. He signs to her to which Liana replies "hey, I'm not even bothered… Ok maybe a little. I
really wanted to win". Ivan shrugs and signs his input with Breloom nodding in agreement. "Yea,
even masters never stop learning. But that's something I can't wait to be. An expert trainer,
helping others train and bond with their partners like what I did for you and Breloom here. I
suppose you're doing alright for yourself as well" Liana says with excitement, ambitious to
achieve her goal as fast as she can.

Ivan rolled his eyes playfully at Liana's incorrigible personality. He shakes his head and then
looks around, taking interest with the other matches in the background. Even some of the older
trainers are battling each other to show off and teach what they know. One thing did catch
Ivan's eye as he saw a Hitmonchan, and next to him was Sean. He wasn't participating in any of
the battles, just observing by himself with Hitmonchan by his side.

Liana noticed Ivan staring off, not at the battles but to Sean. Her mood darkens a little as she
looks back to Ivan. Despite her disapproval to trust Sean, Ivan walked on over to him with
Breloom following close behind. "Ivan…" Liana intended to stop Ivan but couldn't as she let him
go. Instead, she crosses her arms and looks on over to the battles. However, the pestering
feeling to watch how the boys get along was distracting Liana from the battles and couldn't help
but look.

As Liana glanced over, he saw how happy the two were. Being far away, she couldn't make out
what they were saying, at least what Sean was saying. Ivan was giving simple nods and hand
gestures while Sean chatted. Even Hitmonchan and Breloom seem pretty relaxed while the
boys hang out. Liana couldn't recall the last time Ivan hung out with another kid around his age.
Although she stubbornly couldn't forgive Sean's past in bullying Ivan, she admits that he
seemed to be acting more friendlier than ever.

Reluctantly Liana walked on over. As she did, she could make out the words more clearly
coming from Sean "-and then he came down with a dark pulse in combination. I'm thinking I
should get a Honchkrow too". Sean stops as he sees Liana approaching, feeling more awkward
than before. It's as if a buried shame was surfacing back up when Sean saw Liana's scowl. Ivan
looked over to Liana, also worried what she might do. Sean let out a small "hi…". "Hey" both
exchanged followed by awkward silence before Liana thought of something to ask "so, why
aren't you fighting in these matches?"

"Hitmonchan isn't ready yet. Even if he wanted to, I think it's best he doesn't, not until he's fully
recovered. He's fine to walk outside though" Sean says. Liana was impressed as she comments
"Hitmonchan did take a lot of damage from that Muk before. I'm surprised he's out walking so
soon". "Yeah, he's tough and the best partner ever" Sean praises openly as he looks at
Hitmonchan who only gives a modest nod of acknowledgement.

Breloom even gave a cheerful greeting to Hitmonchan, but again, Hitmonchan scoffs at the
friendly gesture. Slightly annoyed, Breloom shouts and points "Bre! Bre-loom!". Hitmonchan
taunted as he flexed with exuberance but then winced at his own pain. "Hey, don't over-do it.
Understand?" Sean sternly reminded Hitmonchan to take things easy. Breloom was worried too
about Hitmonchan's health as he watched him intently in case he fell over.

"I think we've seen enough anyway. Gotta get ready for tomorrow. We'll be good to start our
journey" Sean looks to Hitmonchan as he explains his plans for tomorrow. Liana nods as she
notices the newfound respect she had for Sean, seeing him show such compassion for his
pokemon. "Right, we'll see you later then" Liana waves, bidding farewell while Ivan wishes Sean
a safe trip through his sign language. "See ya" Sean walks off and waves, making sure
Hitmonchan gets back to the pokemon center.

Liana smiles slightly as she looks at Ivan, happy and smirking with a proud smile. "I guess
you're right. Pokemon do have this sort of magic about them. Bringing the best out of us"
recalling what she had learned, Liana reaches over to pat her Granbull fondly. Ivan simply nods
in agreement as he glances over to the ongoing battles, returning his attention to them. Liana
too watched the rest of the matches with Ivan as she continued "when we get our next battle,
I'm going to learn as much as I can. Forever growing til I become the best I can be".

The day fades and the kids disperse from the park, still going on about the exciting pokemon
battles first-hand before their very eyes. Ivan was already heading back home while Liana
waves him off for the night, both already formulating ideas and preparing their adventure
tomorrow.